Kolkata: Delhi Daredevils, upstaged the Rising Pune Supergiant by just seven runs courtesy a perfect blend of youth and experience in the form of Zaheer Khan and Karun Nair at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi, on Friday.
Batting first, Delhi Daredevils rode on the back of a solid 64 by Nair and steady knocks by Rishabh Pant (36) and Marlon Samuels (27) to post 168 runs on the board. Jaydev Unadkat and Ben Stokes got two wickets each in the first innings.
In reply, Zaheer Khan’s ripper of a delivery to Ajinkya Rahane to have his middle stump castled on the very first ball took us back to those old days when he was one of India’s most dependable and lethal bowler.
He also dismissed in-form young opener Rahul Tripathi.
Skipper Steve Smith (38) then joined forces with Manoj Tiwary to resurrect the innings but the captain was dismissed. Ben Stokes (33) too made his way back to the pavilion. Dhoni’s wicket further put to rest all hopes of a Pune victory after he was run out by a beautiful Shami throw. In the end, the home team won the match by just seven runs.
With this win, Delhi are on the sixth in the table while Pune are still in the third position. Things have become very competitive for the top three sides to reach the playoffs side now.
Brief scores-
Delhi Daredevils 168/8 ( Karun Nair 64, Rishabh Pant 36 ; Jaydev Unadkat 2/29) beat Rising Pune Supergiant 161/7 ( Manoj Tiwary 60, Ben Stokes 33 ; Zaheer Khan 2/25) by 7 runs.